I absolutely loved this game. I don't buy CEs so often because most of the time the extras are predictable, the bonus game is often done hastily - or so it seems, and I don't care for wallpapers and music scores really.
But this time, having read the reviews, I did. There are so many scenes to explore, all the different nightmares and traumas to solve, and then the extra morphing objects, puzzle pieces and memorabilia. The visual quality is excellent, the story evolves itself in an interesting way and the characters are done well too.
I don't agree with the gloomy reviews I read here. I do think that MCF is finding its way back to great quality. No, it's not Ravenhearst - that is hard to surpass, I think. But after a few disappointing games, The Countess is really tasting like a decent MCF again.
So the gloomy scenery, the mild horror aspect, the find-it-out-yourself-puzzles are here again, and I enjoyed them, really. The storyline is tragic enough with that twist at the end (which you might have foreseen before it was reveiled, but still).
The CE version has (not too difficult) morphing objects to find and mirror shatters, and I also liked doing that. Earlier games have been more difficult, but sometimes even to a frustrating end. So yes, I recommend this game, and I hope the upgoing line will continue.
I loved returning to the Lost Lands again. This series has an appealing story and this last game is another valuable add to that. Yes, it is your usual hidden object game in a way... but objects are not just piled up and are needed for a sound reason; the steps you have to take are not solved to easily. And then finding out that changing the past is not to be taken lightly (and having to repair what I did) made it an experience worthwhile for me.
I quite accidentally found this game, having played the other one (The secret of serpent creek) earlier and just trying to find a bit-of-spooky HO game. So it's already an older game (2014 apparently, seeing other reviews), but I still liked it a lot because: - I like a bit of cartoonish art work - The thrill of the asylum was presented very well - I really liked the detevctive mode that popped up in a few scenes, where I have to find every item in the room that could tell something about what had happened - for myself, instead of a list of items (there were plenty of that kind of HOS's too) - The storyline was done well enough with some expected ànd unexpected twists during the game - The story was long enough.
Well, I decided not to quit but to finish the game, but I could just as well have chosen to give up. Not because it's difficult - on the contrary. There are several scenes to explore, but after one or two 'sins' that have been cast upon people it does get a bit predictable. Also, the places where you find several objects are just silly, not very logical, only scattered around to make you run around and solve puzzles. The puzzles are insultingly easy, so not much fun there....
So I consider this a so-so game. As long as you don't expect too much originality or logic, it is enjoyable while it lasts.
I LOVED this game. It went on and on, and again new areas opened up to be explored. The characters were actually worked out well and the story kept me going. Having to perform some magic myself by spelling casts added an extra for me, too. The graphics are beautiful: all these worlds, with snow or gloomy trees. I played for a long time and was still sorry to have finished it. Okay, there is quite some going back and fro, and not always in a logical manner (like when you've done much effort to get a train going to reach another area, and then have to go back to pick up one single item and then go back again). But luckily there is this interactive map.
I just finished this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The game is certainly long enough, there are several realms to be explored and interesting characters to meet. I really liked the myths that are entwined in this game. The menus and texts were done all in style, I needed a little time getting used to them because they look different than usual, but I appreciate the effort taken in all these details, too. The reason this game did not receive 5 stars is that the story, although interesting, sometimes takes a leap that I couldn't quite follow. But that being said, I really liked this game!
Just finished this game and I really enjoyed playing this. There were lots of new scenes to be found and explored, the storyline was well thought of, all elements coming back in one of the final HOS's, for example. The twist at the end was something I suspected already but it did not spoil my good mood with this game.
Visiting all the Oz regions and meeting the well-known Oz characters was fun. The challenge was just a little better, not too difficult though, but at least not as insulting to my intelligence as some games are. The game was also long enough.
Well. I really tried to like this game and just quit playing while I was at least half way or maybe further in the game. But I kept feeling irritated time and time again, because there was SO much going back to so many different scenes.
I guess it's a difficult balance to find (for developers) between 'finding all items too soon and too close & therefore closing scenes too easily' on the one end and 'keeping tasks in almost EVERY scene during the whole game which keeps you running to and fro while you really cannot remember all the tasks and their locations' on the other. This was too much for me anyway.
Furthermore, I really hate it when the game lacks creativity. If someting is hard to reach or there is some overgrowth which I have to remove, and I find a rake, I expect to be able to use it to reach the object or clear the overgrowth. But nooo, I REALLY seem to need this particular long stick or the garden shears to reach this goal. Stupid.
So I give up. I don't want to be irritated any longer.
Just finished the game, including bonus game which I will get to later.
The game itself is rather enjoyable, there are plenty of scenes to be explored and the game is certainly long enough. Some features are well known and I think it would have been less predictable if there wasn't an umbrella + a puzzle piece to be found in EVERY scene. Although I wondered why on earth they chose an umbrella, it was a bonus that it was morphing too. Also, some HOS's have been done nicely with a slightly new touch of combining items or having to do something extra to get your item.
On the other hand, there was too much pacing to and fro to my taste (found a cage/door/book/desk drawer in one scene, locked of course; found the key in the next scene, went back and opened the locked item to find something to be used in the scene I just came from, etc. etc.)
The story was not so new really and sometimes a bit 'easy'. You actually have a lot of tasks to do because the dear doctor is tired/hurt or cannot enter a specific scene because well, chimeras just cannot do that (??). And the lady in the story doesn't seem to be very proactive either. But still, the abundance of scenes and little puzzles (a bit easy, I must say) make it a fun game.
Until you get to the bonus game. I cannot state it often enough. Please, developers, stop making bonus games in a hurry because you have to. They turn out to be messy, illogical, too easy and well, really not adding anything to the main game which has taken the team so much effort and sweat and love to make. STOP IT!